Hōrai Mountain
Hōrai Mountain (宝来山, Hōraizan) is a legendary land of unknown location. According to mythology, one can not find the mountain nor the land where it exists if they search for it "as a human is able to", inferring that it is impossible to locate the mountain by conventional means. Because of this, there have been no definite reports of anybody having ever encountered the mountain and returned to tell of its existence nor its characteristics, leaving many to disregard Hōrai as mere folklore. However, it was agreed upon by many that chose to believe the stories that the Shinju was said to have grown at the base of Hōrai Mountain. History While the existence of the mountain remains shrouded in stories alone, there has been only a handful of accounts detailing successful journeys made to the mountain. Only those of the royal Ōtsutsuki were able to locate the mountain and subsequently the land where it existed, regularly making lonesome pilgrimages there as they believed it was a land which connected with the heavens. They happened upon a tree there, eventually being named as the Shinju (神樹, literally "god-tree"), and returned to their land with stories of this magnificent tree. It was worshiped as a "holy pillar" and the Ōtsutsuki King, whom made his journeys there, was often requested by his people to pray for their respective wishes. However, there was a mystery surrounding the Ōtsutsuki royals and their travels there. They never allowed others to accompany them on their journey there and it was often spoken that upon each return, the Ōtsutsuki individual would appear as though they were aging at greater rates than normal humans. Furthermore, they would present themselves as far more distraught and paranoid, experiencing nightmares of unknown origin that they did not ever describe to anybody. Additionally, no Ōtsutsuki that made the trip there had ever disclosed the location to anybody, not even to their fellow descendants, inferring that each Ōtsutsuki that went to the mountain had to find it on their own. All of them eventually died of natural causes, though this was something that sparked the interests of many people in the land. However, for fear of being discovered and silenced for questioning the character of the royals, word of these thoughts were never spoken. It is said that Princess Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, in search of the God-Tree's fruit which would grant her the power to end the ceaseless wars plaguing mankind, learned that while the tree was regarded as a deity, it had never been seen nor perceived by any human being; leading its existence to be classified as solely a myth. The story says that she was able to use her Byakugan, eyes that could perceive all things in the universe and a gift from the kami themselves, to find the mountain after years of traveling to lands unknown. The story goes on to say that Kaguya returned from this mountain, a "changed person", as she was originally held in regard as a bright and loving princess that cared for her people, but after returning from this land, she presented herself as tremendously wicked and coldly indifferent. Kaguya's transmigrant, Seireitou Hyūga, had claimed to have visited the mountain after also spending most of his young adult years searching for it, following the death of his mentor, Shōyō Kawahiru. Though the authenticity of his claim is questionable, he had reported that the mountain carries a very frightening air about it and the experience did indeed change him. Geography & Atmosphere As there have not been actual written reports of Hōrai Mountain ever documented, it is unknown what composes the mountain's geography and atmosphere. However, folklore written by past royal members of the Ōtsutsuki, Kaguya herself, and even Seireitou that had claimed to have visited the land, states various qualities of the mountain in reference to its characteristics. It is a land abundant with natural energy, so vastly potent that the air is difficult to breathe, even at the base of the mountain; implying that the higher one goes climbing the mountain, the energy there must be in even stronger concentrations. Stories suggest that the personality and health changes that the Ōtsutsuki royals had experienced during their travels there had something to do with the energy being far too powerful for them to resist it, as even the air they breathed was not normal air, but pure energy itself. These are connected to the Sage Mode technique, which when used by an inexperienced shinobi, causes them to develop animalistic traits with respect to the species from whom they had learned senjutsu. Besides the quality of the atmosphere, it resembled a normal environment, filled with foliage and standard mountain terrain. Several lakes are found spread across the land, from which weary Ōtsutsuki travelers would be able to drink from them to quench their thirst. However, just as the air was composed of energy, this water, if it could even be called that, was also purely concentrated with potent natural energy. Unlike normal water, it reflected a golden glow rather than a normal blue. It was a drink so strong that, for those that partook of the liquid, it would drive an individual mad. Many reports stated that the water was most likely a form of alcohol, a heavenly sake brewed by the gods themselves. Mountain's Peak Trivia * Mount Penglai (蓬萊山, Péngláishān), known in Japanese mythology by the name "Hōrai", was a legendary land in Chinese mythology which was said to be the base of the Eight Immortals. In the Japanese version of the myth, it was said that the atmosphere of the land was not made up of normal air but rather of "quintillions of quintillions" of souls. Many of the characteristics from this mythological land have been used on this rendition. * Its connection with the Shinju, and the chakra fruit it had grown at one time, is an allusion made to the legend of the mythological Mount Penglai that would host various fruits that have the power to heal any disease, grant eternal youth, and even raise the dead.